In March 2026, the chairman of the Emergency Prevention Committee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Serik Dzhunisbekov, stated that more than 48.7 billion tenge had been allocated for flood prevention measures in the country. The editorial team of FBRK decided to check how this money was distributed across the regions and sent an official request to the ministry.
WHAT HAPPENED
On 18 March 2026, the chairman of the Emergency Prevention Committee of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (MES) of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Serik Dzhunisbekov, stated at a briefing at the Central Communications Service (CCS) that more than 48.7 billion tenge had been allocated for flood prevention measures in the country. For comparison, in 2025 this amount was around 36 billion tenge.
WHAT THE MES RESPONDED
The department explained that, according to the Law 'On Civil Protection', the MES does not have direct authority to finance flood prevention measures: this is the responsibility of the akimats under the Law 'On Local State Governance'. Nevertheless, after a repeated request, the ministry sent inquiries to all regions and compiled a summary table as of 15 April 2026.
WHO SPENT WHAT
According to the summary, the total expenditure on flood preparedness across all regions amounted to around 55 billion tenge – almost 6.2 billion tenge more than the figures announced in March. 
The capital led in expenditure. Astana allocated 8.7 billion tenge for flood prevention purposes, of which 6.6 billion tenge came from the republican budget (RB) and a further 2.1 billion tenge from the local budget (LB). It was followed by Akmola Region – 6.4 billion tenge – and Aktobe Region – 5.9 billion tenge.
At the other end of the scale, there is a stark contrast. Almaty, the country's second-largest city, is listed in the summary as spending zero. Ulytau Region reported expenditure of 16.8 million tenge – which is 518 times less than Astana. Kyzylorda Region spent 180.9 million tenge exclusively from the republican budget, without using a single tenge from the local one.
The funding structure deserves particular attention. Of the 54.9 billion tenge in total expenditure, only 20.7 billion tenge came from the republican budget; the remaining 34.3 billion tenge was shouldered by the regions from their local treasuries. Moreover, 13 out of 20 regions received not a single kopeck from the republic and financed their flood preparedness exclusively with their own funds.
DON'T THE FIGURES ADD UP?
In March, Serik Dzhunisbekov cited a figure of 48.7 billion tenge. The akimats, however, ultimately reported 54.9 billion tenge. A discrepancy of 6.2 billion tenge.
It is possible that some funds were spent later than planned, or that the regions included expenditure beyond the centralised limit in their reports – the MES did not provide clarification.
We remind readers that on 10 April 2026, at a press conference of the Central Communications Service (CCS) dedicated to the culture of water conservation, the FBRK editorial team asked representatives of the Ministry of Water Resources about the results of the Tasqyn and Talsim-NG systems. However, the event moderator dismissed the question, stating it was not relevant to the topic of the event.
Later, the ministry clarified in a written response that the Tasqyn system is used for forecasting floods based on data from the RSE 'Kazhydromet', while Talsim-NG transmits hydrological data on river flow. The department did not provide specific indicators of the systems' effectiveness or accuracy, stating that it intends to sum up the results after the end of the flood season.